Spain has received a 100 billion euro bailout package from euro zone countries to prop up its hobbled banking system, but, unlike Greece, it has not been required to reduce its deficit as a condition of the loan.

The government has had to submit control of its financial sector to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank and the European Commission.

However, about 5 billion euro was lost due to the cost of massive demonstrations since May 2011 over the government's austerity drive, forcing the government to do whatever is necessary to put both problems - street demo and the economy - under control.

The spending cuts appear to be in anticipation of a possible second bailout package to keep the government from defaulting on its debt, and so rather than be forced to relinquish any sovereignty over its spending policies, Madrid is saving face by imposing austerity on itself.

The Indignados have been protesting since May 2011, when the current political opposition, the Spanish Socialist Party, was in power. As a loosely organised popular political movement, the Indignados share a frustration with Spain's two-party political system, a strong opposition to government austerity and rejection of the current economic system, which they view as subverting democratic freedoms and breeding political corruption.

Now, perhaps Malaysia could learn something from the 'happenings' in Spain, especially with regard to street demonstrations and a stiff opposition that rejects everything the government does for the benefit of the country and its people.

What separates the opposition in Spain with us is that, the Spaniards would usually close rank on every constructive measures introduced by the government, and this include the opposition as well. However, ours is totally an 'opposition' that opposes anything the government does.

I have not seen a situation like this, not in any of the 87 countries I have visited.

But we can understand why Pakatan Rakyat is throwing stones at Barisan Nasional government every now and then - for the sake of power!

And ever since Anwar announced his quest to become a prime minister, the opposition movement has gone radical, subscribing to fascism method in avowing their greed to take over Putrajaya in the next general election.

What happens if their 'victory' is met with similar protest like what they have been doing? Would they be able to sustain present stability in the years to come?

2012 Rakhine State riots are a series of ongoing conflicts between ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. The riots came after weeks of sectarian disputes and have been condemned by most people on both sides of the conflict.[4] The immediate cause of the riots is unclear, with many commentators citing the killing of ten Burmese Muslims by ethnic Rakhine after the rape and murder of a Rakhine woman as the main cause. The government responded by imposing curfews and by deploying troops in the regions.

On June 10, state of emergency was declared in Rakhine, allowing military to participate in administration of the region.[5][6] As of August 22, officially there have been 88 casualties – 57 Muslims and 31 Buddhists.[7] An estimated 90,000 people displaced by the violence.[8][9] About 2,528 houses were burned, and of those, 1,336 belonged to Rohingyas and 1,192 belonged to Rakhines.[10] The Burmese army and police have been accused of playing a leading role in targeting Rohingyas through mass arrests and arbitrary violence.[11]

On July 11, 2012 Burmese President Thein Sein suggested that the Rohingya people be expelled from Myanmar or have the UN relocate the 300,000 Rohingya people living in Myanmar, a policy the UN quickly rejected. [16]

Background

Sectarian clashes occur sporadically in Rakhine State, often between the majority Buddhist Rakhine people and sizable minority Rohingya Muslim.[17] The Burmese government has classified the Rohingya as "immigrants" to Burma, and thus not eligible for citizenship. Some historians argue that the group dates back centuries while others say that it emerged in the 19th century.[17] According to the United Nations, the Rohingya are one of the world's most persecuted minorities.[17] Elaine Pearson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division has said "All those years of discrimination, abuses and neglect are bound to bubble up at some point, and that's what we are seeing now."[18]

On the evening of May 28, a group of three Muslims including two Rohingyas, robbed, raped and murdered an ethnic Rakhine woman, Ma Thida Htwe, near the Kyaut Ne Maw village. The police arrested three suspects and sent them to Yanbye township jail.[19] On June 3,[20] a mob attacked a bus in Taungup, mistakenly believing those responsible for the murder were on board.[21] Ten Muslims were killed in the reprisal attack,[22] prompting protests by Burmese Muslims in the commercial capital, Yangon. The government responded by appointing a minister and a senior police chief to head an investigation committee. The committee was ordered to find out "cause and instigation of the incident" and to pursue legal action.[23] As of July 2, 30 people have been arrested over the killing of ten Muslims.[24]

Riots

The riots saw various attacks by Buddhist Rakhines and Rohingya Muslims on each others' communities, including destruction of property.[25]

June 8: Initial attacks

Despite increased security measures, at 3:50 pm June 8, a large mob of Rohingya ignited several houses in Bohmu Village, Maungdaw Township. Telephone lines were also damaged.[26] By the evening, Hmuu Zaw, a high-ranking officer, reported that the security forces were protecting 14 burnt villages in Maungdaw township. Around 5:30, the forces were authorized to use deadly force but they fired mostly warning shots according to local media.[27][26] Soon afterward, authorities declared that the situation in Maungdaw Township had been stabilized. However, three villages of southern Maungdaw were torched in early evening. At 9 o'clock, the government imposed curfew in Maungdaw, forbidding any gathering of more than five persons in public area. An hour later, the rioters had a police outpost in Khayay Mying Village surrounded. The police fired warning shots to disperse them.[27] At 10 o'clock, armed forces had taken positions in Maungdaw. Five people had been confirmed killed as of June 8.[28]

June 9: Riots spread

Security forces approach rioters as they burn remnants of a demolished house.

On the morning of June 9, five army battalions arrived to reinforce the existing security forces. Government set up refugee camps for those whose houses had been burned. Government reports stated that Relief and Resettlement Ministry and Ministry of Defense had distributed 3.3 tons of supplies and 2 tons of clothes respectively.[29]

Despite increased security presence, the riots continued unabated. Security forces successfully prevented rioters' attempt to torch five quarters of Maungdaw. However, Rakhine villagers from Buthidaung Township arrived at refugee camps after their houses had been razed. Soon after, soldiers took positions and anti-riot police patrolled in the township. The rioters marched to Sittwe and burned down three houses in Mingan quarter. An official report stated that at least 7 people had been killed, one hostel, 17 shops and over 494 houses had been destroyed as of June 9.[29]

A student from Government Technological College was murdered in the morning.[citation needed] It is unclear whether the murder has any relation with the riots.

June 10: State of emergency

On June 10, a state of emergency was declared across Rakhine.[17] According to state TV, the order was given in response to "unrest and terrorist attacks" and "intended to restore security and stability to the people immediately."[17] President Thein Sein added that further unrest could threaten the country's moves toward democracy.[30] It was the first time that the current government used the provision. It instigated martial law, giving the military administrative control of the region.[17] The move was criticized by Human Rights Watch, who accused the government of handing control over to a military which has historically brutalized people in the region.[31]

Also on June 10, according to the Rohingya, "a 12-year-old girl who went for routine shopping was shot to death by police."[30] Some ethnic Rakhine burned Rohingya houses in Bohmu village in retaliation.[32]

Over five thousand people were residing at refugee camps by June 10.[33] Many of the refugees fled to Sittwe to escape the rioting, overwhelming local officials.[30]

June 12–14

On June 12, more buildings were set ablaze in Sittwe as many residents throughout Rakhine were relocated.[34] "Smoke is billowing from many directions and we are scared," said one ethnic Rakhine resident. "The government should send in more security forces to protect [our] communities."[31] An unnamed government official put the death toll at 25 to date.[31]

The number of casualties were officially revised to 21 on June 13.[35] A top United Nations envoy visited the region affected by the riots. "We're here to observe and assess how we can continue to provide support to Rakhine," said Ashok Nigam, UN humanitarian coordinator.[35] The envoy later remarked that army appeared to have restored order to the region.[9]

Meanwhile, Bangladeshi authorities continued to turn away refugees, denying another 140 people entry into Bangladesh. To date at least 15 boats and up to 1,500 total refugees have been turned away.[35] Dipu Moni, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, said at a news conference in the capital, Dhaka, that Bangladesh does not have the capacity to accept refugees because the impoverished country's resources already are strained.[36] The UN called on Bangladesh to reconsider.[37]

On June 14, the situation appeared calm as casualty figures were updated to 29 deaths – 16 Muslim and 13 Buddhists according to Myanmar authorities.[9] The government also estimated 2,500 homes had been destroyed and 30,000 people displaced by the violence. Thirty-seven camps across Rakhine housed the refugees.[9] Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi warned that violence would continue unless "the rule of law" was restored.[9]

June 15-28

As of June 28, casualty figures were updated to 80 deaths and estimated 90,000 people were displaced and taking refuge in temporary camps according to official reports.[38] Hundreds of Rohingyas have fled across the border to Bangladesh, though many have been forced back to Burma.

Tun Khin, the President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) have stated that as of June 28, 650 Rohingyas have been killed, 1,200 are missing, and more than 80,000 have been displaced.[11] The Burmese army and police have been accused of playing a leading role in targeting Rohingyas through mass arrests and arbitrary violence.

Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh also claimed that the Burmese army and police shot groups of villagers at gun points. They fear to return to Burma when Bangladesh rejected them as refugees and asked them to go back home.[11] Sources also say they have received images and videos of brutal killings of Rohingyas from the people who fled the region. Due to the intensity of the violence, news reporters' fear to go to the region and humanitarian workers are not allowed to enter the region by local police and the army.

Reactions

Domestic

88 Generation Students Group – 88 Generation Students leaders have called the riots "acts of terrorism" and acts that have "nothing to do with Islam, Buddhism, nor any other religion."[40]

All Myanmar Islam Association – All Myanmar Islam Association, the largest Islam association in Myanmar, has condemned the "terrorizing and destruction of lives and property of innocent people", declaring that "the perpetrators must be held accountable by law."[41][42]

Some local analysts believe the riots and conflict have been instigated by the military, with the aim to embarrasss Aung San Suu Kyi during her European tour, to reassert their own authority, or to divert attention from other conflicts involving ethnic minorities across the country.[43]

In August 2012 President Thein Sein announced the establishment of a 27-member commission to investigate the violence. The commission would include members of different political parties and religious organizations.[44]

International

Iran - Members of Iranian society have condemned the attacks and called on other Muslim states to take a "firm stance" against the violence; protests have also taken place in Iran.[45]

Pakistan – Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Ali Khan said during a weekly news briefing: "we are concerned about the situation, but there are reports that things have improved there." He added that Pakistan hoped Burmese authorities would exercise necessary steps to bring the situation back to control.[46] Protests against the anti-Muslim riots were lodged by various political parties and organisations in Pakistan, who called for the government, United Nations, OIC and human rights organisations to take notice of the killings and hold Myanmar accountable.[47][48]

Saudi Arabia - The Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia says that it "condemns the ethnic cleansing campaign and brutal attacks against Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya citizens" and it urged the international community to protect "Muslims in Myanmar".[49]King Abdullah ordered $50 million of aid sent to the Rohingyas, in Saudi Arabia's capacity as a self-appointed "guardian of global Muslim interests".[50]

United States – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday called for "all parties to exercise restraint", adding that "the United States continues to be deeply concerned" about the situation.[51][52]

United Kingdom – Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne told reporters that he was 'deeply concerned' by the situation and that the UK and other countries would continue to watch developments closely.[53]

European Union – Earlier in 2012, the EU lifted some of its economic and political sanctions on Myanmar. As of 22 July, EU diplomats are monitoring the situation in the country and are in contact with its officials.[54]

Nearly 75,000 of those made homeless during inter-communal conflict in June and transferred to temporary camps are living in conditions "worse than animals", according to the Rohingya Human Rights Association in Bangkok

There is no end in sight to the sufferings of what the UN has called "the world's most persecuted minority" – the Rohingya Muslims of Arakan state, in the far west of Burma.

Nearly 75,000 of those made homeless during inter-communal conflict in June and transferred to temporary camps are living in conditions "worse than animals", according to the Rohingya Human Rights Association in Bangkok. In some of the camps 100 people are sharing a single latrine, and many are reportedly falling ill with diarrhoea and fever.

But the camp-dwellers may be the lucky ones: according to Tun Khin, President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, hundreds of thousands more Rohingya in northern parts of Arakan state, where outsiders are not permitted to travel, are being deliberately bottled up in their homes by security forces and antagonistic locals. Meanwhile in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan state, fire broke out in the grounds of the centuries-old central mosque, allegedly started by the Muslim community's enemies. The extent of the damage is disputed.

The ghost of General Ne Win still haunts the country he tyrannised for so long. Most of Burma's 130-plus minorities have been brutalised at one time or another by the Burmese army during its half-century of domination, but the Rohingya is the only major one barred from citizenship in the Citizenship Law introduced in 1982.

For Ne Win, a Burman chauvinist who did everything he could to ensure that the majority community faced no serious challenges to its power, this was perhaps second best to expelling them en masse – the fate of 300,000 ethnic Indians settled, many for generations, in Rangoon and other cities, who were sent penniless to their "homes". But the consequences of the Rohingya's legal marginalisation continue to rumble on today: on 12 July Burma's new strongman President Thein Sein, hailed in Washington in recent days as a courageous reformer, said he wanted the Rohingya removed. "We will send them away," he said, "if any third country would accept them."

The pogrom of Rohingyas in June, the killings and house burnings that drove 100,000 of them from their homes, caught the outside world on the hop, coinciding as it did with real breakthroughs in the country's reform process. It occurred precisely as Aung San Suu Kyi started travelling for the first time since 1988, visiting Thailand, Norway, Britain and most recently the US, picking up medals and prizes awarded long ago for her humanitarian stand. Meanwhile the Potemkin-like parliament in Naypyidaw, mostly packed with military stooges elected in the grotesquely fixed polls of 2010, started behaving like a real legislative body, challenging the executive, holding vigorous debates. Democracy, it seemed, was beginning to find its feet.

Meanwhile a community whose roots in the country go back at least two centuries – the term "Rooinga" was first mentioned by a British historian in 1799 – and probably much further, was being targeted for the most cold-blooded attempt at ethnic cleansing since Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic bombarded downtown Sarajevo.

The uncomfortable fact is that these two phenomena – the flourishing of Burmese democracy and the brutal crackdown on a community long stigmatised as alien – are closely related.

In the by-elections held in Burma in April, Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won 43 of the 44 seats it contested. These were the first fair polls since the NLD won a landslide – ignored by the military – in 1990. The fact that they were relatively free and fair showed that President Thein Sein recognised that if Burma wished to continue to improve its ties with the rest of the world, it could not go on fixing elections as it had done in 2010.

His problem was that in April the party he leads, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, the military's proxy, was trounced everywhere it stood. If this result was repeated in the general elections in 2015, it would be swept into the dustbin of history. Somehow the USDP must tear the support of the masses from the grip of Ms Suu Kyi and her colleagues.

It has tried to do so in a way that is as ugly as it is effective: by appealing to the strong chauvinistic vein in the majority population, manufacturing (Rohingyas claim) a local atrocity – the rape and murder of a non-Rohingya girl – then orchestrating the vicious reaction. Thein Sein is now reaping the reward: crowds greeting him as a hero, monks demonstrating in Mandalay demanding the Rohingyas' expulsion.

Aung San Suu Kyi – who was persuaded to enter politics by a Muslim poet, Maung Thaw Ka – knows that if she speaks out against the persecution of the Rohingya she risks alienating at a stroke the millions who love and support her. Thein Sein knows it too. Negotiating this conundrum and emerging with both the support of the Burmese millions and the respect of the world may be the biggest challenge she has yet faced.

Monday October 8, 2012

Sports cars go crashing, four killed

KUANTAN: Four lives were lost when two high-powered sports cars were destroyed after they skidded and hit two trees. The crashes involving Nissan Skyline cars occurred moments apart at about 4am, fuelling speculation that the drivers were speeding along the Jalan Haji Ahmad Satu stretch here. The driver of the first car was identified as Tan Kah Yong, 34, a businessman from Klang while a woman from China, Bao Shanshan, 27, was his front passenger. Firemen had to extricate their bodies from the badly-mangled vehicle.

Mangled wreck: Relatives of the deceased inspecting one of the damaged cars at the traffic police station in Kuantan.

Two other women passengers, Wei Litong and Zhang Hongmei, also from China, have been warded at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital with serious injuries. All three women apparently worked at a karaoke outlet here. Also killed were the driver of the second car, businessman Go Haw Wei, 20, from Alor Akar, and car salesman Koay Khor Liang, 21, from Bukit Sekilau. Go died at the scene while Koay succumbed to his injuries with his elder brother by his side moments after being brought to the hospital. Firemen had earlier taken 40 minutes to extricate Koay from the wreck.

The deceased: (From left) Khor, Bao, Tan and Go were killed in the crash.

His brother Koay Koh Hong, 25, had rushed to the scene after receiving a call from a friend informing him of the accident. Visibly shaken and traumatised, he stuttered: "I saw him ... barely able to talk and in great pain. "I knew then that he might not make it. But I had to put on a brave front as I tried to assure him that everything was going to be all right when the firemen were cutting him free." It is learnt that Go runs a family-owned business and had just bought his car about two weeks ago. Pahang traffic administrative enforcement officer Asst Supt Zainal Abidin Othman urged eyewitnesses to come forward. He said initial investigations revealed that the road was wet due to an earlier downpour. "We believe both drivers had been heading for Semambu from Kuantan," he added. ASP Zainal Abidin said the cases were being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for reckless driving, resulting in death.

At a talk in London in June, a student from the Kachin ethnic minority asked why Suu Kyi (a majority Burman) seemed reluctant to condemn a bloody government military offensive against Kachin rebels. The conflict has displaced some 75,000 people.

Suu Kyi's answer was studiously neutral: "We want to know what's happening more clearly before we condemn one party or the other."

The Kachin community was livid. The Kachinland News website called her reply an "insult." Kachin protesters gathered outside her next London event. An "open letter" from 23 Kachin groups worldwide said Suu Kyi was "condoning state-sanctioned violence."

That a woman so widely revered should arouse such hostility might have seemed unthinkable back in April. A landslide by-election victory propelled Suu Kyi and 42 other members of her National League for Democracy into Myanmar's parliament. Not anymore. Once idolized without question for her courageous two-decade stand against the old junta, Suu Kyi now faces a chorus of criticism even as she emerges as a powerful lawmaker here.

She has quickly become an influential voice in the country's newly empowered parliament. Still, ethnic groups accuse her of condoning human-rights abuses by failing to speak out on behalf of long-suffering peoples in Myanmar's restive border states. Economists worry that her bleak public appraisals of Myanmar's business climate will scare foreign investors. Political analysts say her party has few real policies beyond the statements of its world-famous chairperson. She must also contend with conflict within the fractious democracy movement she helped found.

International critics have seized upon her ambiguous response to one of Myanmar's most urgent humanitarian issues: the fate of 800,000 stateless Rohingya Muslims in remote western Myanmar. There, clashes with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists have killed at least 77 people and left 90,000 homeless since June.

Spurned by both Myanmar and neighboring Bangladesh, which hosts 300,000 refugees, many Rohingya live in appalling conditions in Rakhine State. The United Nations has called the Muslim minority "virtually friendless" in Buddhist-dominated Myanmar. The violence erupted in June, days before Suu Kyi's first trip to Europe in 24 years.

"Are the Rohingya citizens of your country or are they not?" a journalist asked Suu Kyi in Norway, after she collected the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded in 1991 while under house arrest.

"I do not know," said Suu Kyi. Her rambling answer nettled both the Rohingya, who want recognition as Myanmar citizens, and the locals in Rakhine, who regard them as invaders. The reply contrasted with the moral clarity of her Nobel speech, in which she had spoken about "the uprooted of the earth … forced to live out their lives among strangers who are not always welcoming."

STRATEGIC AMBIGUITY

Suu Kyi's moral clarity helped make the former junta a global pariah. Her new role as political party leader demands strategic ambiguity as well. She must retain her appeal to the majority Burmans and Buddhists, without alienating ethnic minorities or compatriots of other faiths. She must also engage with the widely despised military, which remains by far the most dominant power in Myanmar.

Her political instincts have been apparent to Myanmar watchers since 1988, when she returned after spending much of her life abroad. Amid a brutal military crackdown, she emerged as leader of the democracy movement. She spent most of the next two decades in jail or house arrest and yet remained the movement's inspiration.

"I don't like to be referred to as an icon, because from my point of view, icons just sit there," she said in a lecture on September 27 at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "I have always seen myself as a politician. What do they think I have been doing for the past 24 years?"

Myanmar's reforms have accelerated since she was freed from house arrest in November 2010, days before an election stage-managed by the military installed a quasi-civilian government. This year, it has freed dissidents, eased media censorship and started tackling a dysfunctional economy.

Myanmar's emergence from authoritarianism is often compared to the Arab Spring. Yet its historic reforms were ushered in not by destabilizing street protests, but by former generals such as President Thein Sein.

Suu Kyi's role was pivotal. A meeting she held with Thein Sein in the capital of Naypyitaw in August 2011 marked the start of her pragmatic engagement with a government run by ex-soldiers. She pronounced him "sincere" about reforming Myanmar, an endorsement that paved the way for U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Naypyitaw last November and, earlier this year, the scrapping of most Western sanctions.

A saint-like reputation for unwavering principle can be unhelpful in politics, a murky world of compromise and negotiation. So can adulation, which generates expectations that not even Myanmar's "human rights superstar" – as Amnesty International calls her – can fulfill.

Suu Kyi realizes this. "To be criticized and attacked is an occupational hazard for politicians. To be praised and idealized is also an occupational hazard and much the less desirable of the two." She wrote that 14 years ago.

Today, she regularly visits her parliamentary district of Kawhmu, a small and impoverished rice-growing area near the commercial capital Yangon. On a recent morning, as she was driven in an SUV along Kawhmu's potholed roads, villagers spilled out of their huts to cheer for "Mother Suu."

Kawhmu's problems – household debt, lack of electricity, joblessness – are Myanmar's writ small. "Some villages around here have no young people," says Aung Lwin Oo, 45, a carpenter and member of the National League for Democracy. "They have all left to work in Thailand and Malaysia."

UNGLAMOROUS WORK

Suu Kyi's first stop that day was the Buddhist monastery. There, she prayed with the monks and met representatives from two villages to settle a money dispute. Then she ate lunch with NLD members at a tin-roofed wooden bungalow – the party's Kawhmu headquarters – and discussed drainage issues with local officials.

Her new job is unglamorous, but aides say she relishes it. "She enjoys political life," said Win Tin, an NLD elder and long-time confidant. "She enjoys it to the utmost."

She is also adapting to life in Naypyitaw, the isolated new capital built from scratch by the junta, where she lives in a house protected by a fence topped with razor wire. In the Lower House of parliament, the colorful garb worn by many ethnic delegates lends a festive atmosphere. Sitting near Suu Kyi is an MP from Chin State who wears a head-dress of boar's teeth and hornbill feathers.

Men in green uniforms, however, dominate one side of the chamber. Myanmar's constitution, ratified after a fraudulent referendum in 2008, reserves a quarter of parliamentary seats for military personnel chosen by armed forces chief Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, a protégé of the retired dictator, Than Shwe.

Suu Kyi's mere presence in parliament breathes legitimacy into a political system built by the junta that jailed her. Her party has reversed many long-cherished positions to get here.

The NLD boycotted both the constitution-drafting process and the 2010 election. That vote was rigged in favor of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, now the ruling party and the NLD's main electoral rival. Suu Kyi's camp also demanded that the military recognize the results of a 1990 election, which the NLD won easily but the junta nullified.

Her party abandoned these stances to take part in April's by-elections. It now holds less than a tenth of the lower house seats, but Suu Kyi ensures the NLD punches above its weight.

She led opposition to a higher education bill that she deemed substandard; it was scrapped in July and will now be redrafted by legislators. She also helped kill a clause in a foreign-investment law that would have protected Myanmar's crony businessmen.

In August she was named chair of a 15-member parliamentary committee on "rule of law and tranquility," which could further amplify her influence.

Her star power has limits, however. Reforming the constitution to dial back the military's influence remains an NLD priority. That requires three-quarters support in parliament, including from some military delegates – a daunting task even for Suu Kyi.

"She is very persuasive," said Ohn Kyaing, NLD party spokesman and member of parliament. But "without the military's help, we can't change our constitution. We have no chance."

REJUVENATING THE NLD

While the NLD's by-election landslide suggests it will win the next general election in 2015, the party hardly seems like a government-in-waiting.

The NLD was formed in September 1988 after a military crackdown that killed or injured thousands of pro-democracy protesters. The junta arrested Suu Kyi before the NLD was a year old, and hounded, jailed and tortured its members. In 2003, government thugs attacked Suu Kyi's convoy, killing dozens of her supporters. She was lucky to escape alive. Most NLD offices were shut down.

When Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest in 2010, her party was a moribund force with a geriatric leadership. She set about rejuvenating it, personally opening dozens of offices. Two of the party's aging co-founders, Win Tin and Tin Oo, both in their eighties, have been nudged into "patron" roles.

The party is booming – it now has a million members, spokesman Ohn Kyaing said. But success is bringing a new set of problems. The NLD plans to hold its first national party conference in late 2012 or early 2013, and protests have erupted in several constituencies, including Suu Kyi's Kawhmu, over who gets to attend.

The dispute highlights the friction between old NLD members, who survived two decades of persecution, and new members who joined in reform-era Myanmar. "The old ones don't want to give up their posts because they struggled," said Ohn Kyaing.

It also reveals a struggle between the party headquarters and far-flung branches, with local officials accusing their leaders of being bossy or unresponsive. At least five members were suspended for disobeying or protesting against the party leadership.

Suu Kyi heads a seven-member Central Executive Committee which, past and present NLD members say, effectively rubber-stamps her decisions. These included the NLD's refusal in April to swear a parliamentary oath to "uphold and abide by" the constitution. Imposing her will might not be democratic, said Aung Kyi Nyunt, an NLD upper house legislator. "But it's not authoritarian, because she never orders (us) to follow her decisions. We already agree."

After a two-week stand-off and criticism from supporters, the "Iron Aunty" backed down and her MPs took their seats.

The NLD also has a troubled relationship with Myanmar's reinvigorated media. One newspaper said in May that Suu Kyi's bodyguards had assaulted one of its reporters, which the NLD denies.

Some Burmese-language websites are dedicated to smearing Suu Kyi. Their unsubstantiated gossip – one falsely claimed that she has a teenage daughter by a Burmese lover – strikingly resembles junta-era propaganda. (The websites, whose owners protect their identities by registering through proxies, couldn't be reached for comment.)

ETHNIC UNREST

The NLD's parliamentary debut has also highlighted a lack of concrete policies and experts to formulate them, a critical weakness when Myanmar's reformist government is drafting new legislation at a breakneck pace.

Pressed by Reuters in Kawhmu to explain the NLD's policy on the Rohingya, for example, Suu Kyi seemed to say the party didn't have one. "It's not a policy that has to be formulated by the NLD," she said. "It's something that the whole country must be involved in. It's not just a party concern."

Suu Kyi's popularity in Myanmar is not as universal as many Western admirers assume. She is adored in the lowlands, where fellow ethnic Burmans predominate and her image adorns homes, shops, cars and T-shirts. Burmans, or Bamar, make up two-thirds of Myanmar's 60 million population.

That reverence fades in rugged border regions, occupied by ethnic minorities who have fought decades-long wars against Myanmar's Burman-dominated military. In rural Shan State, named after the largest minority, images of Suu Kyi are hard to find.

Suu Kyi used her maiden speech in parliament in July to call for greater legal protection of minorities. But this has not inoculated her against criticism from ethnic leaders.

Among them is Khun Htun Oo, a leading Shan politician who was jailed for almost seven years by the former junta. Suu Kyi has been "neutralized" by participating in parliament, he told reporters in Washington last month, a day before the two of them picked up awards from a human-rights group. "The trust in her has gone down."

In an interview with CNN during her U.S. trip, Suu Kyi stoked the anger with a gaffe. She admitted that she had a "soft spot" for Myanmar's military, which was founded by her father, the independence hero General Aung San. That expression of filial piety ignited a storm of negative comments on Facebook, Myanmar's main forum for popular political discussion.

For years, the NLD backed calls for a United Nations Commission of Inquiry into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Myanmar. This push has been quietly dropped since Suu Kyi's release. "What we believe in is not retributive justice but restorative justice," she said in March. Restorative justice, she added, did not mean putting junta members on trial.

Western governments take their cue from Suu Kyi on human rights. And they use such equivocations "to justify doing nothing" about issues of justice and accountability, said Mark Farmaner of London-based advocacy group Burma Campaign UK. He noted it took more than two months for British Foreign Secretary William Hague to comment on the violence against the Rohingya minority.

Suu Kyi will speak up on the Rohingya issue "when the time comes," said NLD spokesman Ohn Kyaing. "Politics is timing."

As the U.S. cuts deals, Suu Kyi accepts rewards and President Thein Sein is pardoned for his past crimes; the conflict continues to burn homes and claim lives and now it has crossed an international border.

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Ethnic tension has consumed Burma in recent weeks and now the problems are spilling over in a retaliatory fashion, into Bangladesh.

It all began over the reported rape of a Buddhist woman in Burma, a long closed pariah state which the Buddhist government renamed Myanmar. Almost immediately after that happened, a bus carrying Muslim men in Burma was pulled over, and the passengers murdered in open daylight.

Since then things have only become worse, much worse. We have published photographs of Rakhine Buddhists roving around with weapons including machetes which offer a haunting reflection of past genocides. People have been laid to waste; cut into pieces in some cases.

These murders have accelerated as Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State, has worked hard to help the leaders of this country in their "transition to democracy". This means forgiving decades of human rights abuse by Burma's military junta.

As political leaders in Burma hold their hand out to America for economic prosperity, mobs of Rakhine Buddhists are killing their fellow citizens, the Rohingya Muslim and leaving their villages in ashes. The U.S. State Dept and even the famous Burmese political leader An Aan Suu Kyi remains silent over the suffering of the Rohingya.

One of the regular chants of the anti-Muslim protesters here, is that the Rohingya people are "illegal immigrants from Bangladesh". However the Rohingya community according to historical accounts, has been in Burma for hundreds of years.

Regardless of that, the violence that has been plaguing the Muslims of Burma, has now extended to Bangladesh where innocent Buddhists are being attacked in retaliation to the violence plaguing Rohingya Muslims.

The Chinese news agency Xinhuareported today, that dozens of Myanmar Buddhist monks gathered in front of the Bangladeshi Embassy today staging protests against recent attacks on Buddhist institutions in Bangladesh.

The interesting thing is that the Buddhists in Bangladesh are calling for and demanding the exact things that the Rohingya Muslims are begging for, for weeks, now months… in Burma. The cries of this Muslim population facing annihilation fall on deaf ears as the government of 'Myanmar' is Buddhist and therefore fails to protect the Muslim minority population.

They are asking for peace, yet their counterparts in Burma have been totally unwilling to grant that peace. So now the violence is visiting the otherwise peaceful Bangladeshi Buddhists in return and they do not deserve it.

As the United States cuts its deals and Suu Kyi accepts her rewards and President Thein Sein is pardoned for his past crimes, the conflict continues to burn homes and claim lives and now it has crossed an international border, this is the reward for the mighty western powers' decision to ignore this genocidal bout of ethnic cleansing.

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Just what is it that forces human beings to behave like the most savage beasts? Here are a couple of insights I am gleaning from my work.

First, when committing war crimes, be sure to do a really thorough job of destroying the person or people you attack. Make their final appearance 'unacceptable' to the photo editors and then your murders of civilian innocents will never be seen by anyone!

For example, I have photos from the Sri Lanka government Genocide against Tamils in 2009 where part of a fetus is sticking out of the slain mother's belly. It is just too grotesque to use, so the public never sees it because even hardened human rights and war reporters like myself are too squeamish to do so.

War Crime lesson 2… when your vaunted political heroes show us they are not who you thought they were, give them a big award for doing nothing, such as Barack Obama who stated he would close Guantanamo Bay and instead failed to keep his word and was given a Nobel Peace Prize, or…

Yeah, this is the one that bugs me. The little birds fly around Suu Kyi's head singing in unison like in a Disney cartoon; in Beyond Rangoon they portray her as having the ability to stand down a whole regiment of soldiers without a word. I spent so many years just smiling if I pictured her face because I thought, 'someday Burma will be free and she will be at the top politically where she deserves to be'. I believed that day would come and that it would always inspire people.

I believe she gave millions faith, only now I realize it is more like false hope. She has already had the opportunity to be a real human rights activist come and go.

The Muslims in her formerly locked down country are being slaughtered in ever increasing numbers by this woman's Rakhine Buddhist brethren and it is one pathetic fucking mess that deserves nothing less that an onslaught of government control.

That won't happen because Buddhists who become killers operate under and as part of a Buddhist state terrorism government, and are among the most dangerous people on earth.

It is exactly what happened in Sri Lanka; time and time again the Sinhala Buddhists led attacks against Tamil Hindus and Christians, and the common denominator is that statue of a fat guy that they all get very intense over.

But it means nothing because these two cultures, it is statistically fair to say, are largely comprised of bloodthirsty people willing to not just kill, but torture and rape and chop human beings into pieces.

The remains of the people they oppose are often found after torturers stuck rods through their bodies and cut off their genitalia; gashing them so that the intestines fall out in this tragic nightmare of ethnic cleansing.

Aung San Suu Kyi may have made some comment I don't know about deploring the murders of thousands of Rohingya Muslims since the last time I wrote about this unfolding and unaddressed tragedy- about four weeks ago, but like I said, I don't know of anything like that happening.

But I know from hearing it over and over again on NPR that she won that Congressional Gold Medal.

It sounds like something that you would earn at a sporting event doesn't it?

Who cares, it is pomp and circumstance and the lady gets a bunch of gratitude for having to live under house arrest while other Burmese are just ruthlessly cut down. She wasn't even in jail.

I sound angry because of what I just read before writing this story.

My friend and contact Aung Aung in Sittwe sent photos of what the Rakhine Buddhists are doing each and every single day to the Rohingya Muslims; they are remorseless killers and they are roaming the streets on motorbikes with machetes exactly like when the Hutu began slaughtering Tutsi after the 1994 Genocide began.

The code phrase uttered over and over by a pro-Genocide Rwanda radio station, "cut down the tall trees," was a call for the Hutu to start killing the Tutsi.

But the United States isn't saying shit and they do not care. Let me say this again, Hillary Clinton does not care about the terrible genocidal slaughter taking place on her watch and we will NEVER let her forget it and again, the parallels with Sri Lanka's Tamil Genocide are endless.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her entourage of business interests are in my opinion, as I stated before, staring and drooling over Burma like a gang of football players getting ready to nail a 16-year old virgin.

It is a nightmare scenario and the country is one of the few places so expansive in the world that has for all practical purposes, not been exploited by modern business.

Clinton and the U.S. administration are well aware of Burma's past human rights record which is dismal; one of the very worst on the earth, and they failed to address this most important issue when making their business deals and signing contracts, in spite of cries from Human Rights Watch and members of our own team like our Human Rights Ambassador William Nicholas Gomes and myriad other voices.

The Americans really have lost their soul and while they made deals to earn a bunch of money off Burma's inexperienced back, the Muslims in this Asian nation are being slaughtered like the Jews, Roma and Poles of the 1930′s; the Cambodian victims of the Khmer Rouge in the 70′s' the Rwandans in the 90′s' and Sri Lankans in this new century.

So here is what was reported to my contact from the town of Maungdaw, regarding violent attacks on 16.9.2012 and 18.9 2012:

16.9.2012: Salimullah, son of Hanfujja, 38-years old, from Dushiradan (Kadeerbil) went fishing for survival, on the way to home Rakhine from Maungdaw and Bangladesh chopped Salimullah into pieces. When people knew it, they reported the crime to the Kayindan Police Station but police did not investigate the case even when the officers saw the victim was cropped into pieces as an inhuman way.

18.9.2012: Dudu Miah and 5 other Rohingyas accompanied 2 ladies travelling from Yaung Chaung, Southern Maungdaw to Khayang Chaung in a Jeep, on their way to Khayang Chaung. Police stopped them and beat them severely; the two ladies were raped by the polices from the police station.

18.9.2012: In Minpya township of Arakan State, Chief Police officer, U Saw Pyu, Sergean Kyaw Win and other 3 police raided the house of Zafar, son of Amir Ali while he was not present at home, they took all properties and raped the ladies who were at home.

For those who haven't considered or studied these highly charged issues, rape is traditionally a psychological tool of horror and war used to terrorize populations in ways that no civilized society can even comprehend.

I noted many Afghans who looked Russian, had Slavic features, and then I quickly learned that they were the result of ten years of Soviet soldiers raping women and 'leaving their seed' which is a different type of warfare but nothing new at all of course and totally illegal under international law.

So in conclusion, it is obvious that I am not holding back on the photos because these are recent examples of the debauchery that is coming to define Burma"s Rakhine Buddhists and Aung San Suu Kyi is sure working out for the benefit of the Americans.

I am extremely troubled and disturbed and hear from many people in regard to this daily 'purge' of otherwise happy, functioning people who have lived in Burma for hundreds and hundreds of years.

One of the favorite claims of the Rakhine Buddhist community is that these indigenous Muslims are 'illegal immigrants from Bangladesh' and this is not only untrue, but Bangladesh absolutely refuses to accept the residents of Burma who manage to take to the water in boats and escape.

One of the saddest pictures I have ever seen is of a Royhingya man pleading to a Bangladeshi soldier not to send he and his family back to a terrible fate.

And the Americans and their little media dogs from ABC and CBS and CNN and NY Times give these suffering people little to no airtime, they all should have their broadcast and print licenses pulled for failing to represent their duties with regard to humanity.

They are about profit, Clinton and her gang are about profit, even Suu Kyi is now about profit, and those who follow a Prophet are being laid to waste in the streets where they were born and raised.

I had a conversation with a friend today who is a U.S. Army Reserve officer; we spent some time in Afghanistan's 'Pesh Valley' where all kinds of terrible things keep happening to Americans fighting there, it is right on the Pakistan border. After this duty he was sent straight to Iraq for the 'surge' and he said they lost a person every 24-hours. One day a kid who was 15-years old rode up to a convoy and blew himself up.

My friend was on the scene, he recalls this kid lying all over the ground torn up and the only thing he thought while looking at the mangled child was, "Wow he has nice hair". He says to this day it is the only thing he can call up about that kid, that day.

When people are moved to commit violence and they follow the call of a government's military or in some cases a religious leadership, they loose touch with the real world.

My friend has just a touch of PTSD and he knows how weird it all is, and seems, but there are coping mechanisms that kick in and aid a person charged with doing this type of work.

Imagine when there are no moral barriers or boundaries, and all women and girls are targets and prizes to rape and abuse and likely kill; consider that for a moment. What the hell allowed Buddhist people to fall so low to the ground?

Where is Aung San Suu Kyi? Where is the Dali Lama?

Why is the Buddhist community being silent?

These are questions that hopefully we will some day have the answers to.

For now, I hate for the legacy of these murder victims to show such gruesome scenes, but they must be seen and these religious maniacs have to be stopped.

What it all comes down to is that people being crowned as Human Rights champions are often more limited in scope than any of these organizations let on.

For example, I would be shocked if Israel ever gave a medal to a Jewish citizen for saving the life of a Muslim; or if a Christian group gave a Muslim or a Hindu a high level reward; I'm sure that has happened but not very damned often.

Life and humanity are not about taking care of only one kind and ignoring the rest; all of humanity is exactly deserving of the same things according to international law.

Below are Government Colonized Proof documents of Rohingya Muslims. As referenced above, the Buddhists of this place like to claim that Muslims are all people who moved across from Bangladesh are are 'illegal aliens'.

These documents clearly demonstrate that is not the case.

Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer

Tim King has more than twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. Tim is Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. His background includes covering the war in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, and reporting from the Iraq war in 2008. Tim is a former U.S. Marine who follows stories of Marines and Marine Veterans; he's covered British Royal Marines and in Iraq, Tim embedded with the same unit he served with in the 1980′s.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing from traditional mainstream news agencies like The Associated Press and Electronic Media Association; he also holds awards from the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs; and was presented with a 'Good Neighbor Award' for his reporting, by the The Red Cross.

Tim's years as a Human Rights reporter have taken on many dimensions; he has rallied for a long list of cultures and populations and continues to every day, with a strong and direct concentration on the 2009 Genocide of Tamil Hindus and Christians in Sri Lanka. As a result of his long list of reports exposing war crimes against Tamil people, Tim was invited to be the keynote speaker at the FeTNA (Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America) Conference in Baltimore, in July 2012. This is the largest annual gathering of North American Tamils; Tim addressed more than 3000 people and was presented with a traditional Sri Lanka 'blessed garland' and a shawl as per the tradition and custom of Tamil Nadu

In a personal capacity, Tim has written 2,026 articles as of March 2012 for Salem-News.com since the new format designed by Matt Lintz was launched in December, 2005. Serving readers with news from all over the globe, Tim's life is literally encircled by the endless news flow published by Salem-News.com, where more than 100 writers contribute stories from 23+ countries and regions.

Tim specializes in writing about political and military developments worldwide; and maintains that the label 'terrorist' is ill placed in many cases; specifically with the LTTE Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, where it was used as an excuse to slaughter people by the tens of thousands; and in Gaza, where a trapped population lives at the mercy of Israel's destructive military war crime grinder. At the center of all of this, Tim pays extremely close attention to the safety and welfare of journalists worldwide. You can write to Tim at this address: tim@salem-news.com. Visit Tim's Facebook page (facebook.com/TimKing.Reporter)

Setting fire to Rohingya villages- an act that was carried out by Rakhine & Security forces

This video is about my work as a senior trainer on Disability Equality Training (DET) and my life story. Thank you to TENA Malaysia for the opportunity to promote DET to its staff and supporters.

Thank you, too, to the participants for their effort during the group exercises, action plan making and presentations. I am glad that I was able to facilitate you all into understanding disability better and the ways we can make society more inclusive of disabled people.

Special appreciation must go to the team from Lucideas for their unwavering support throughout this campaign, especially to Beatrice, Wendy, Benji and Gadiy; and to the video and sound crew for making me feel like a star with all the cameras and bright lights. This is an experience that will be hard to forget.

This post showcases ten really incredibly unbelievable s** facts which I picked up from various websites. I am posting these for the sake of knowledge and interest. Every single fact is backed by documented evidence. :-)

Fact # 1: Heavier Men Last Longer in Bed (??????)

The Daily Beast reported that a new study suggests heavy men make love for longer than their thinner counterparts. Researchers in Turkey have finished a yearlong study that correlated body mass index with male sexual performance. Their findings may surprise you: Heavier men were able to make love for an average of 7.3 minutes, while slender men lasted an average of 108 seconds. The study, published in Nature, showed overweight men had higher levels of the female estradiol hormone, which blocks male hormones and delays the climax.

At this site, Annelis Rufus, author of many books, listed 15 other factors that influenced staying power. She burst my bubble for I always thought Italians led the pack! CLICK HERE for the post.

Fact # 2: The Cure for Morning Sickness

It is so *coughs* unbelievable that I dare not even copy and paste it here. So, if you really want to know what Gordon Gallup's research discovered as the cure for morning sickness, please CLICK HERE and be bowled over. Note: I am not advocating that measure but merely sharing information as obtained from the New York Daily News.

Fact # 3: The Cure For Headaches

The "I'm sorry, dear..not today...I've got a headache.." can't be used much longer for Dr. Vincent Martin discovered that s** can actually cure headaches because the increase in serotonin levels which happens during sex eases the pathways in the brain that can lead to and sustain a headache! Unbelievable? CLICK HERE to read the rest of the report.

Fact # 4 The Most Satisfying Spot

According to The Daily Mail, "The old phrase 'You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' may need updating.

For theanklehas overtaken the back as the most satisfying spot to scratch, according to researchers at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina.

In the study, reported in the British Journal of Dermatology, healthy volunteers were made to itch on the forearm, ankle and back by rubbing them with cowhage, a plant with tiny hairs that irritate the skin. " CLICK HERE for the rest of the entry.

Fact # 5 Vibrators were used as medical treatment during the 19th century

According to the Museum of Sex, the vibrator was originally used as a medicinal treatment for female "hysteria" during the 19th century. The vibrator-induced orgasms helped doctors dissipate hysteria's anxiety-related symptoms. You don't believe me, right? Check it out HERE!!!!

OK....More next time in Part 2.. Have a great day!!! Do leave a comment!

As DAP Selangor Organizing Secretary, I would like to clarify a statement made by a sacked DAP member named Tan Tuan Tat in Sungai Pelek, Sepang two days ago that a group of 400 members have resigned from DAP and seven DAP branches are already dissolved.

Under Clause 20 of the DAP Constitution, the CEC has the sole right to establish and dissolve any branches nationwide in which there are due

For as long as I could remember, I have been a nasik-separuh-ye-kak person. Until I reached my confinement days. During my 44-days of confinement, I ate almost quadruple as much rice than I usually did. Quadruple, you read it right. Now let's do the maths.

Last time, for as long as I could remember:

Half a plate of rice times two (lunch and dinner) comes to one full plate of rice per day.

Confinement time

Quadruple as much —> 4 full plates of rice per day. FOUR, baby.

Now I'm glad that my confinement is way over. Only, the rice issue continues. I still eat rice like there's no tomorrow. And I have been wondering why.

Until I came across this fact –> it takes twenty-one days for a person to develop a habit. Good or bad.

Voila!

Confinement was 44 days, right? That means I had been practicing the 4-plates-of-rice-a-day habit for 44 days straight, right? And it only takes 21 days for the habit to actually develop, right? No wonder laaaaa!!!

So. Now that I have found the answer, I'm so going to revert to my old rice intake. 21 days of half a plate of rice per meal. I'll start with 7 days first – the most crucial period. And see how I take it.

Speaking of habit, I woke up at 4.30 a.m. this morning and started my day straight away. Been doing that a few times recently. (My biological clock wakes me up at 4++ every morning without fail, but I usually snooze off like twenty times before I actually sprang up, so my fault, my fault). One thing about waking up early is that I feel the day goes longer and slower. It doesn't feel that way of you wake up at 10am and sleep at like 3am, eventhough the amount of hours you spend awake is the same. So I guess another 21-day milestone for me is, starting my day at 4.30 a.m. everyday.

Are we all set?

Yes. Or not quite. Now that we know what I want to do for the next 21 days – cultivating good habits – we have to couple it with affirmations. Affirmations is simply like a monologue – you say to yourself what you want to achieve, as if you HAVE ACHIEVED it already. Macam orang gila, kan? Indeed. But this affirmation is a magical craziness. What it does is, it sends the signal to our brains, and our brain will be wired up to act towards the things we have affirmations on.